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Democratic primary win a cakewalk for Schakowsky in 9th Congressional District
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky
Updated: March 29, 2012 3:39PM
Simon Ribeiro has twice before filed for the 9th Congressional District seat held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Janice D. Schakowsky, once as a Republican and once as a Green Party candidate. But this was the first time Ribeiro, now 30, challenged the popular liberal in the Democratic primary.
The results proved predictable. With the majority of precincts reporting in both the Chicago and suburban portions of the district, Schakowsky, 67, was commanding 90 percent of the vote in the redrawn district, according to unofficial returns.
In the general election in November, the seven-term Congresswoman will be challenged by Republican Timothy C. Wolfe, an Arlington Heights accountant and first-time candidate. Wolfe holds conservative free-market positions and wants to simplify the tax code, reduce the size of the federal payroll, reduce burdensome regulations and eliminate “Obamacare,” which he describes as the single biggest drag on the economy.
The Republican primary was uncontested after Wolfe challenged the petitions of Susanne Atanus, a frequent candidate, and succeeded in bouncing her off the ballot.
The left-tilting 9th Congressional District took on more Republican turf under Illinois’ new Congressional map, which was redrawn by Democrats to erase the Republican gains of 2010, as well as adjust for the state’s loss of one U.S. House seat following the 2010 census.
The new 9th District still includes a portion of Chicago’s lakefront and Evanston, Lincolnwood, Skokie, Morton Grove, Niles and Park Ridge. However, the redrawn district has shifted north along the lakefront to include all of Wilmette, Winnetka, Northfield and Kenilworth. The district also has taken on new territory in Glenview and southeast Northbrook, as well as in the northwest suburbs of Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect and Rolling Meadows.
